Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett had a big overtime and sophomore defensive end Joey Bosa had a big game to lead Ohio State past Penn State, 31-24, in double overtime Saturday night and remain in the playoff hunt.
Barrett scored both of Ohio State's overtime touchdowns and also threw a TD pass for the Buckeyes, who led 17-0 at halftime. Bosa wreaked havoc all night and had 2.5 sacks, including one that ended the game in the second overtime.
While Ohio State (6-1) dominated the first half, the Buckeyes' offense bogged down in the second half. Penn State, which scored its first TD on a pick-six, forced overtime with a 31-yard field goal with nine seconds left. But Barrett took over in overtime.
Ohio State had rolled up at least 50 points and at least 500 yards in four consecutive games. Saturday's game showed that was largely a product of the opposition; the Buckeyes managed 293 yards against Penn State, which had just 240 total yards, including only 16 on the ground.
Barrett, who was playing with a slight knee sprain suffered in the first half, now has accounted for 27 TDs this season, and his 21 TD passes rank sixth in school single-season history.
Ohio State finished with six sacks, and Penn State's offensive line continued to show that it is overmatched each week. On the final play, Bosa basically ran over tailback Bill Belton, who fell into Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg and knocked him over. That Belton ended up on Bosa in a one-on-one situation obviously means a protection mistake was made somewhere.
Bosa (6-foot-5, 278 pounds) now has eight sacks; he finished with 7.5 last season.
Ohio State plays host to Illinois next week, then travels to Michigan State on Nov. 8 in a game that almost certainly will determine the Big Ten East Division titlist.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
